


Story Types in SPN

by yourlibrarian



Series: Fanfic Genres [6]
Category: Fandom - Fandom, Supernatural
Genre: Fanfiction, Gen, Meta
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-07
Updated: 2016-05-07
Packaged: 2018-06-06 23:27:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6774544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yourlibrarian/pseuds/yourlibrarian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For a while now, I've been curious what people see as the common stories in SPN.  Now that I've been reading around in SPN fic for a while I think I can identify a few categories, but I'm interested in other ideas.  I'm not focusing on what typical fanfic plots tend to get used (first times, spell goes awry, bodyswapping, amnesia, etc.), but rather, how canon and characters tend to get repeatedly reshaped.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Story Types in SPN

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted April 22, 2008

For a while now, I've been curious what people see as the common stories in SPN. Some time ago I wrote about the types of stories I tended to see in [Spike/Xander fanfic in BtVS](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6715429). And I just saw a post by rahirah about the [ur-story of a particular pairing.](http://rahirah.livejournal.com/313755.html) Now that I've been reading around in SPN fic for a while I think I can identify a few categories, but I'm interested in other ideas. I'm not focusing on what typical fanfic plots tend to get used (first times, spell goes awry, bodyswapping, amnesia, etc.), but rather, how canon and characters tend to get repeatedly reshaped.

I've left RPS out of this as while some of it also falls into these categories, it tends to get expressed in different ways.

 **(1) Hopeless** – (Sam/Dean, het, gen)- The gen versions of this seem to play out most often in apocalyptic fic, either as deathfic or very dark post-apocalypse stories. The focus is on how either Sam can't escape his destiny, or that humankind is fated to lose the demon war. I have seen a few examples of hopeless fic in Wincest; the incest angle would seem to make this type of story a natural. In the Wincest version there's likely to be unrequited feelings by one of the characters, a general fear of engagement by both, a failed attempt at changing their relationship, or a type of character study where the inner POV character comes to the realization that this problem exists between them and there is no solution. A frequent setting for this seems to be preseries, where this conflict is the central motivation behind Sam's departure, or Dean's angst about Sam leaving. It is sometimes also bound up in the general claustrophobia of their childhood, the fact that Dean is too aware of Sam's age and impressionability, or that Dean is off on his own het adventures oblivious to what Sam's going through.

Lately another type of fic that fits this profile is the dead!Dean fic where Sam must soldier on alone with Dean being a ghost, a demon, or somehow not really there. In het stories the main problem tends to be balancing the hunting lifestyle/obligation to family with the desire to have a longterm relationship.

 **(2) Hopeful** – (Sam/Dean, gen or het) Struggles with many of the same issues as #1, only it takes a more optimistic outlook on the possibility of the characters successfully adapting. In gen therefore the central conflict may be (as on the show) the question of Sam's moral state or Sam's need to rescue Dean from hell (or from whatever state his death has transformed him into). For het, again see #1 only somehow the conflict is successfully resolved. 

What interests me about this fic type in SPN is that the Sam/Dean fic uses their sibling relationship as the nexus of the conflict rather than their personalities. In fact, I'm not sure I've ever seen a fic that looks at the central problem being that they're deeply tied to one another and attracted, but not in fact terribly compatible (if anyone has ever seen this type of fic, link me!) Of course in S/X fic, there was an external as well as internal problem in the human/vampire issue as well as the good/evil one. I've sometimes seen the good/evil used in SPN in evil!Sam fics, where being brothers becomes a secondary issue in terms of a relationship, or conflated with the fact that Sam is no longer himself. 

**(3) Domestic** – (Sam/Dean, het, gen) - One way I've seen this is as futurefic of some kind where one or both brothers have left hunting, and either settled down with other partners or with one another. What I find interesting is that stories that do have this setting are often neither schmoopy nor domestic, but are jumping off points to case-driven stories or angst of some kind, which speaks to me about how deeply hunting is part of the characters, not just the plot of the show. The schmoopiest kind of domestic story tends to be fic that reinterprets Sam and Dean's hunting lifestyle as a form of domesticity, either focusing on the routines of their lives (in the gen versions), or the way they work a relationship into those routines (Wincest). These also seem to be shorter ficlets. 

**(4) Seductive/Confident Sam** – (Sam/Dean and het) – Perhaps it's due to the power issues central to the incest quandary, but given how brash and initiative taking Dean often is with women on the show and in het fic (especially preseries stories), I've rarely seen him written this way with Sam. A lot of these Sam/Dean fics don't seem to want to spend much time (if any) on the incest issue and portray Sam as the initiator, deliberately seducing Dean once he realizes he is attracted to him. In some cases Dean's pretty resistant, in others he's a pushover, but Sam is rather more confident than we've tended to see him in canon relationships. In some ways this makes sense because Sam knows Dean pretty well, and in stories where the incest issue is swept under the rug, that problem doesn't end up making him more hesitant and unsure. In evil!Sam stories, well, confident doesn't even cover it. It just tends to play out as very dom/sub or just goes completely dark.

When it comes to het fic, I've seen Sam more unsure, or more uncommitted, though he still comes off as pretty confident, usually being the initiator.

 **(5) Seductive/Vulnerable Dean** \- (Sam/Dean and het) I've seen a few bits of this in Sam/Dean, mostly in stories where Dean returns from hell pretty traumatized, or just not himself, so it often appears in some kind of h/c. I've also seen it in het or other slash futurefics where Dean is somehow without Sam due to Sam's death or their separation (a kind of emotional rather than physical h/c). Dean ends up being intentionally or unintentionally seductive, but not in the sort of confident way he is on the show. It's either more low-key, an often ill-suited response to some situation, or simply something that's projected on him by an outside POV. (I've also seen it in a _lot_ of RPS AU).

 **(6) Male Bonding** – (Gen) - Domestic partners who are buddies with benefits isn't a story type that lends itself well to two brothers -- it's too much of a barrier to leap (though I'd really be interested in seeing someone try it). By that I mean having the two very matter-of-fact about their bond and the sex without feeling the need to talk about it. Instead this story type gets played out a lot in gen fic, which focuses on the sibling aspect of their relationship, the annoyances and humor, the dependence and comfort, 

**(7) Case Stories** – (Gen, Sam/Dean) – I don't think I've seen a het case story (as opposed to a case story that includes het, if that makes any sense), but that kind of stands to reason in a series with nearly no canon het relationships. There are a few stories that are case oriented with only incidental Sam/Dean. But most often, they're simply gen and may involve Dean on his own, Dean and John, or even Sam on his own following a hunt while at Stanford, as well as series-era or future Sam and Dean. 

**(8) The Outsiders** – (Gen, het, Sam/Dean, other slash) - One type of story I have seen used often is where either minor characters or OCs are used in a "slice of life" story. If it's a minor character, there's usually a more in-depth look at the Winchester work life or their relationship. If it's an OC it tends to be a briefer fic where an outside POV reveals something about Sam and/or Dean, or else provides a different interpretation about their personalities and actions. I have to say I quite love that approach because I think the characters have become increasingly morally ambiguous over the course of the show (and may become more so) and presenting them in a totally different manner is fascinating. In some cases the Outsider is mostly a narrative device, in others the character is fully fleshed out and takes a more central role in the story. I have yet to read one however where the story is actually about the OC alone, rather than somehow shedding light on the Winchesters or events that have taken place in canon. The Outsider POV also gets seen a lot in… 

**(9) Family Life** – (Gen) – Although lots of het, gen, or Wincest stories are set preseries, I'm talking here about stories whose purpose is to explore what the family was actually like, rather than to do a character study of Sam, Dean or John, or to follow the development of a relationship or Sam and Dean's first forays thereof. These are a little different from case stories mostly in terms of focus, because cases do often appear here if the boys are older. The stories are often seen from the POV of one of the Winchesters but involve all the family members in some way, as opposed to some preseries gen that's really #8.

 **(10) Origin Stories** – (Gen, het) – The key word for me in this story type is "foreshadowing." I think a lot of John or Mary fic falls in this grouping, whether it's John solo stories, John/Mary stories, other het stories with John, stories of Mary with young Sam and Dean, or hunter centered stories. This also encompasses a lot of stories that focus on demons, such as explaining why Sam was targeted, or outside demon views of the Winchesters over the years. I separate this last one from #9 because the focus is generally on something related to the Winchesters' future and Sam's role.

 **(11) Separated at Birth, but not at Death** – (Gen, Sam/Dean) – I think all fandoms have some version of the "what if X and Y had met differently" stories, or the amnesia trope where the main characters must rediscover one another. I think that the separation stories are a more distinct type of fic for SPN. For one thing, this is often the plot center of many AUs. I've seen some that use the characters of Sam and Dean in a completely different verse (usually for the purpose of writing Sam/Dean without the Wincest angle) but there are quite a few stories that continue to keep them as brothers but have them separated after the fire. In some cases John dies in the fire, in others, he loses them to social services, or keeps Dean but leaves Sam with family, etc. I've only seen one story where Dean and Sam are both raised together in a different setting, and it was a John story, not one about Sam and Dean. The Sam/Dean stories tend to have the two meet as adults, not realizing they're siblings. The gen stories are sometimes combined with case stories where John and/or Dean meet Sam as a result of their work. In some cases the meeting and revelation of the truth is the climax of the story. In others it's the beginning where Dean attempts to bring Sam back into the family. The Sam/Dean stories tend to go more AU, with Sam and Dean generally leading completely different lives unrelated to hunting, or sometimes learning about hunting as a result of Sam's visions.

Another version of these are stories where either Mary, John or both didn't die, or at least didn't die when they did in canon. I haven't seen one that explored what would have happened to John and Mary's relationship (though I'd imagine they're out there) but the authors most often seem to want to explore how the Winchesters would, or wouldn't, be different under the influence of the other parent, or would be different if they had entered into hunting later or had a different family structure. And yet another way of tampering with that family structure are girl!Sam or girl!Dean stories that assume they grew up with a brother/sister or sister/sister relationship.

 **(12) The Wishverse** – (Sam/Dean, het, gen) - In some ways the Wishverse takes up the issue of a different family structure or early years in a more canonical setting. This is because either Sam or Dean are the canon Sam or Dean in the Wishverse, so some of the same issues get brought into this alternate verse to play out differently. Some stories assume the Wishverse is an actual parallel universe and follow that universe's Sam and Dean. Like #11 the focus is often on exploring what would happen to the sibling dynamic if they didn't go through the exact same experiences. A non-hunting setting is often central in het stories, so there are explorations of Sam and Jess's relationship in a setting where she didn't die (and Sam may or may not remember her having done so) or Dean/Carmen where he's leading a more normal life.

 **(13) The Canon AU** – (het, Sam/Dean, gen) – I have the "gap years" as a separate story type whereas "preseries" is to me just a setting. The reason is because I think the focus in many of these "gap years" stories is an exploration of the characters leading a different life than one we've seen in the series, only to some extent it actually happened. The first example is that I would bet most het gets written preseries, particularly during this gap. Obviously a lot of Sam/Jess gets written, focusing on a "normal" relationship. The stories may also explore Sam's experiences trying to pretend his life hasn't been that different from everyone else's. (Stories about Jess herself and her perspective on Sam however belong in #8, or sometimes in #10). There may also be Dean/Cassie stories or other stories where Sam or Dean had different relationships, each trying to fit himself into a different way of life.

Sam/Dean fic tends to focus on Sam/Jess and contrast it to Dean on his own, and how the two are leading different lives due to their separation. The focus may also be on how Sam is trying to plan out a different future or better understand his past. This is also a major time for Sam or Dean slash with original characters, generally framed as their way of trying to move past one another, or, like the het stories, trying for a different life. I would guess that this is also a major period for John/Dean stories, which brings up a completely different way of looking at the Winchester family dynamics and the resulting events during the series. 

Some of the gen that gets written during this time period belongs in #7, but there's also a strain of "what if Sam never went to Stanford" gen set during this time. It assumes a different family dynamic given that John and Sam's falling out didn't occur and that therefore certain canon events wouldn't have transpired either. Sometimes it's Sam/Dean that postulates that they were unable to give one another up, or that Sam did leave but that Dean went with him. Then there's also gen that focuses on John and Dean's relationship during their partnership years, and how Sam's absence plays into that.

 **(14) The Extended PWP** \- (Sam/Dean, gen) - By definition, PWP's are plotless, with at best a set-up for the sex scene. However I think there's a lot of what I would call an Extended PWP in the fandom -- stories that utilize some sort of magical event (genderswap, bodyswap, magical pollen, curses, etc.) to get Sam and Dean together. I don't think I've ever seen this in a het story, but in gen it tends to serve an interesting purpose. Although gen usually utilizes it for humor, there's also fic that does so to get Sam and Dean to reveal themselves to one another in some way. Some of the Sam/Dean stories use the devices as a jumping off point for this as well.

* * *

As I said in my previous post on S/X story types, the categories I came up with don't have anything to do with better or worse types of stories, since an author's approach is what influences that. I do think though, that the prevalence of some types of stories says a lot about what people do or don't want to see regarding the characters or the verse. Certainly one thing apparent to me in looking over the list is the centrality of the family dynamic in shaping the characters and canon, since a good number of these story categories involve somehow tinkering with it to see where the characters may go. So, can anyone contribute any example links or categories?


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